‘last night of the pelly proms’ church on the heath 17

‘Last Night of the Pelly Proms’ Church on the Heath

17 July 2010

Programme Price: £1

Overture – The Yeomen of the Guard

Arthur Sullivan

Three Dances from Lola Montez

1. The Spider Dance 2. The Gold Rush 3. The Dance of the Corked Hat

David Perkins

Song to the Moon from Rusalka Antonin Dvorak Soprano: Diana Vivian Enigma Variations

Edward Elgar

The Banks of Green Willow George Butterworth

~~ Interval & Refreshments ~~

Pomp and Circumstance No. 1

Edward Elgar

The Trap

Ron Goodwin Arr. George Pollen

The Sun Whose Rays Soprano: Diana Vivian

Arthur Sullivan

Bugler’s Holiday Leroy Anderson Trumpets: Hannah Mitchell, Alistair Richards, Roy Falshaw

Fantasia on British Sea Songs Soprano: Diana Vivian

Henry J. Wood

Jerusalem C. Hubert H. Parry

Pelly Concert Orchestra Pelly Concert Orchestra Pelly Concert Orchestra

www.pellyorchestra.co.uk

Ladies and Gentlemen, I am delighted to welcome you to the third Last Night of the Pelly Proms, it hardly seems like yesterday since we were filling Hartley Wintney with the sound of hooters and other extraordinary noises! We were sad to say goodbye to the beautiful church at St John's, but unfortunately without resorting to suspending people from the ceiling we were (wonderfully) just seeing too many people at this concert to stay there. So we proudly welcome you to our new home of the Church on the Heath. I hope you agree they are impressive surroundings! Tonight's concert is about friendship and fun. No piece displays this more to me than Elgar's Enigma Variations. Whether it be the tale of Dan the Bulldog who fell into a river (don't worry he was fine) but the ensuing chaos led to Elgar writing variation 11, or Augustus Jaeger, of the publisher Novello and Company - Elgar's friend, the man who constantly reassured Elgar in his moments of self-doubt and the man to which, historically, Nimrod is dedicated, these works represent a musical life in a way no biography can hope to. It is the sheer joy that makes them, and in particular Nimrod, such a universally popular work. In fact Nimrod has become so popular that it is often cited as our second National Anthem. I'm sure those of you who have been to a Pelly Prom before will need very little encouragement, but those of you who join us for the first time tonight, the second half of the concert isn't necessarily as serious as the first. I'm afraid polite concert etiquette was not a term invented for the second half of a Pelly Prom. Please feel free to indulge in any silliness/general bad behaviour you see fit! Have a wonderful summer and we look forward to seeing you for another year of beautiful music and mayhem in October! Until next time, kind regards, Christopher Braime Musical Director



Land of Hope and Glory

Land of Hope and Glory, Mother of the Free, How shall we extol thee, who are born of thee? Wider still and wider shall thy bounds be set;

God, who made thee mighty, make thee mightier yet. God, who made thee mighty, make thee mightier yet.

Jerusalem

And did those feet in ancient time Walk upon England’s mountains green?

And was the Holy Lamb of God On England’s pleasant pastures seen?

And did the countenance divine Shine forth upon our clouded hills? And was Jerusalem builded here Among these dark satanic mills?

Bring me my bow of burning gold! Bring me my arrows of desire!

Bring me my spear! O clouds, unfold! Bring me my chariot of fire!

I will not cease from mental fight, Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand,

Till we have built Jerusalem In England’s green and pleasant land.



Programme Notes

THREE DANCES FROM LOLA MONTEZ is an orchestral suite from the musical Lola written in 2000 with lyricist Terry Read. Lola Montez was a notorious exotic dancer of Irish decent living in the mid 19th century. Her colourful ‘career’ took her to India, Europe, the United States and Australia having affairs along the way with King Ludwig I of Bavaria, Franz Liszt and the writer Alexandre Dumas. She was married several times (often for financial gain), leaving behind a trail of destruction – she was wanted for various crimes including bigamy and assault. 1. The Spider Dance was performed by Lola at the court of King Ludwig I. Basically a striptease, the dance was choreographed on the pretext that she was covered in spiders and the removal of her clothing was the quickest way to be rid of them. Needless to say back in the 19th century it caused quite a scandal but made her world famous. The imaginary spiders are represented by fast tremolos and trills from the woodwind. 2. The Gold Rush - Lola went prospecting for gold in the 1849 Californian Gold Rush. This is the opening scene as prospectors celebrate their newly found wealth with a series of themed dances at Big Nosed Kate's Saloon. The dances include the 'Posh Dance', the 'Spitting Dance' and the 'Hill Billy Dance'. 3. The Dance of the Corked Hat was performed by Lola and her fellow prospectors at the diggings in Ballarat, where she had gone to be part of the Australian Gold Rush. It is a folk-style country dance based on a simple musical idea that repeats and builds as instruments join in section by section. The piece ends with a brief moment of emotional outpouring, for it was in Australia that Lola was reunited with Frank Folland, the only man she truly loved.

DAVID PERKINS is a composer of theatre and choral music. He has written several musicals including The Water-babies, Pandemonium! Revolting Rhymes, Shake Ripple and Roll, Skool and Crossbones and adaptations of Oscar Wilde’s The Selfish Giant and The Happy Prince for Guildford’s Yvonne Arnaud Youth Theatre where he is also Musical Director. For local drama societies, musicals include Lola, Blood! and a short one-act opera, Commuters. Choral works include Song of Psalms, Mass, Elegy and his most recent work Re:Creation – a full length oratorio for soloists, chorus and orchestra – which received its London premiere at St John’s Smith Square in April 2009. David has also composed and arranged music for film and has written jingles for several TV commercials. When not composing and arranging, David

works as a freelance accompanist and musical director.

Programme notes by David Perkins



ENIGMA VARIATIONS was first performed at St James’s Hall London on 19 June 1899. It was Elgar’s most ambitious orchestral work to date and a further performance in Düsseldorf in 1901 went on to establish him as a composer of international importance. The story is told of how Elgar, returning home from giving violin lessons, sat down at the piano and, to unwind, began improvising. His wife, Alice, commented favourably on the tune that emerged and Elgar responded by suggesting how certain of their friends might play it. Out of that spontaneous exchange grew the idea of the Enigma Variations. Theme (‘Enigma’): The theme is in G minor with a central contrasting passage in the major, before the opening returns. 1. C. A. E. (Caroline Alice Elgar): a loving and dignified tribute to Elgar’s wife. 2. H. D. S-P. (Hew David Steuart-Powell): an amateur pianist, who often played trios with Elgar. His characteristic warm-up routines are gently parodied. 4. W. M. B. (William Meath Baker): a country squire with an abrupt manner and a tendency to bang doors behind him when leaving a room. 5. R. P. A. (Richard P. Arnold): a music-lover and pianist (son of the poet Matthew Arnold) whose playing had, according to Elgar, a way of ‘evading difficulties but suggesting in a mysterious way the real feeling. His serious conversation was continually broken up by whimsical and witty remarks.’ 7. Troyte (Arthur Troyte Griffith): a Malvern architect and close friend of the Elgars. This energetic, rhythmically disrupted variation recounts Elgar’s desperate, and ultimately abortive, attempt to teach him to play the piano. 8. W. N. (Winifred Norbury): this variation is more a portrait of a graceful 18th-century house than the lady who inhabited it. Her characteristic laugh is, however, suggested in the central section. 9. Nimrod (August Jaeger): in the Book of Genesis Nimrod is ‘the mighty hunter’; the name Jaeger means ‘hunter’ in German. Jaeger was Elgar’s closest musical friend, the man who edited his music and whose judgement he trusted more than anyone else’s. Their shared love of Beethoven is enshrined in this profound Adagio, the most celebrated of all the Variations. 11. G. R. S. (George Robertson Sinclair): organist of Hereford Cathedral. Sinclair had a bulldog called Dan, of whom Elgar was immensely fond. The opening bars recall Dan falling into the river Wye, swimming upstream and scrambling to the bank with a triumphant bark. 12. B. G. N. (Basil G. Nevinson): a fine amateur cellist whom Elgar described as ‘a serious and devoted friend’. 13. * * * The identity of the friend concealed behind the three asterisks remains the subject of speculation. 14. E. D. U. Finale a dashing self-portrait – accompanied in the middle section by a reference to C. A. E. herself, drawing the musical threads together in a symphonic finale of masterly conception and dynamic energy. Programme notes © John Pickard, 2005



Tonight’s Soloists

DIANA VIVIAN (SOPRANO) studies singing with Ian Baar and is coached by Phillip Thomas. She studied at the Royal Academy of Music and transferred to the Guildhall School of Music, where she won the Principal’s Prize for singing. In 2000 she toured America, singing First Lady in thirty-six performances of The Magic Flute. For Scottish Opera she has covered Gutrune and Gerhilde in Der Ring des Nibelungen and covered and performed the role of Aïda. For Welsh National Opera she has covered the role of Leonora in Il Trovatore, and for Vlaamse Opera she sang Starenka in Jenufa. More recently she covered the Witch and Mother in Hansel and Gretel for Scottish Opera, sang Abigail in Nabucco for Kentish

Opera and Riverside Opera and repeated the Mother and Witch in Hansel and Gretel in Chichester, directed by Paul Wingfield with whom she also sung Ariadne auf Naxos. She was selected to participate in a Masterclass with the renowned tenor Jose Cura at the Royal Academy in September. On the concert platform she counts among her favourites Strauss’ Four Last Songs (St Johns Smith Square) and Verdi Requiem (Guildford Cathedral) and has sung the soprano solos in Haydn’s Stabat Mater in Barcelona, Nelson Mass in Florence and Rome and Mozart’s Vespers in Venice. She also tours the country with the 3 Sopranos, a female cabaret group.

HANNAH MITCHELL (TRUMPET) was born in Lancashire and began to play the cornet at the age of 4 only moving to trumpet when she started studying at The University of Edinburgh. Here she was tutored by Peter Franks (principal of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra) and began to play for many of the City's orchestras including Edinburgh Symphony Orchestra, Edinburgh Grand Opera and Edinburgh Symphony

Baroque. During this time she was also lucky enough to be able to perform with the highly acclaimed Scottish Sinfonia. Whilst in Scotland she had many opportunities to play solos including Horowitz Trumpet Concerto and Halsey Stevens Trumpet Sonata in a recital at The Edinburgh Society of Musicians. Since moving to Surrey in 2007, Hannah has continued to play in many orchestras and made her Southern concerto debut with the Misbourne Symphony Orchestra in February 2009. More recently Hannah performed Hummel's Trumpet Concerto with the Abbots Langley Orchestra. Hannah has really enjoyed playing with the Pelly Concert Orchestra since October 2009 and is looking forward to tonight’s performance with Alistair and Roy!



ALISTAIR RICHARDS (TRUMPET) began learning the trumpet aged 8 and moved onto the cornet 2 years later when he joined the local brass band. He continued to play in numerous bands in southern England and moved to Scotland in 2001 joining the Newtongrange Silver Band near Edinburgh. The highlight of his brass band career was winning consecutive Scottish area contests in 2004 and 2005, the latter culminating in a national finals appearance at the Royal Albert Hall competing against the very best bands in the country. Upon returning to London, Alistair continued as a flugel horn and soprano cornet soloist before moving to orchestral trumpet playing in 2006 when he joined the Misbourne Symphony Orchestra

based in Buckinghamshire. 2007 saw a move to Surrey where he has been able to perform with local ensembles such as the Invitation Orchestra, The Thames Philharmonia, The Oxford & Cambridge Music Society, The Carshalton Choral Society and the highly respected Serlo Consort. Alistair joined the Pelly Concert Orchestra in October 2009 and is looking forward to being part of its continuing success.

ROY FALSHAW (TRUMPET) was first associated with the Pelly Orchestra (then the ‘Yateley Light Orchestra’) in 1973 when he was stationed at the Guards Depot, Pirbright. Since then he has often played with the Orchestra, notably in 1984 when he was the soloist in a Giuseppe Torelli Trumpet Concerto. In his capacity as the Orchestra’s Deputy Conductor, Roy has twice taken the baton for summer concerts in 2002 and 2004. After service with the Aldershot- and Camberley-based staff bands of the Royal Army Medical Corps and Royal Army Ordnance Corps, in 1986 Roy attended the Bandmasters’ Course at the Royal Military School of Music, Kneller Hall. On graduation he was appointed

Bandmaster of The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards. With this regiment he served in the 1st Gulf War in Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Kuwait. After retiring from the Regular Army, Roy was commissioned into the Territorial Army and appointed Director of Music of the London-based Band of The Royal Yeomanry. He combines this with his full-time employment as Director of Instrumental Music at Danes Hill School in Oxshott. In addition, Roy is on the staff of the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain and works as a freelance trumpeter.



Christopher Braime: Conductor and Musical Director

Christopher was born in Beverley in 1983. He was awarded a Foundation Scholarship to study at the Royal College of Music, London, where he studied oboe with John Anderson, Christopher Cowie and David Theodore; and conducting with Neil Thomson and Richard Dickins. Christopher became the Musical Director of the Imperial College String Ensemble in 2003, where he remained until 2007 and now works as

assistant conductor for the Kensington Philharmonic Orchestra, the Farnborough Symphony Orchestra, and the Sussex Symphony Orchestra. In 2007 he took up the role of Musical Director of the Pelly Concert Orchestra. He has recently been appointed Musical Director of the Worthing Youth Orchestra, Worthing Youth String Orchestra and West Sussex County Wind Ensemble, and for the 2009–2010 season assumed the role of Musical Director of the Grosvenor Light Opera Company for their performance of Yeomen of the Guard. As an oboist, Christopher has worked with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the National Chamber Orchestra of Wales, the Southbank Sinfonia, and he is oboist with Kokoro - the contemporary music ensemble of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. He is also principal oboe with the Sussex Symphony Orchestra. Amanda Lake: Leader Amanda recently graduated from the Royal College of Music with a First, where she was a scholar in the class of Dona Lee Croft. She is now undertaking further studies with Levon Chilingirian and Bela Katona. Amanda is a member of the Alea Quartet which recently performed Peter Maxwell Davies 10th String Quartet at the Purcell Room. She has given performances in Downing Street, St Martin-in-the-Fields, as well as touring the USA and Portugal. She has also led the Amadeus Orchestra and the Dmitri Ensemble. As well as several solo appearances with the Pelly Concert Orchestra, Amanda has appeared extensively as a soloist with orchestras across London and the South-East.



1st Violins Amanda Lake Nicola Farnworth Jinny Gribble Alice Gribble Rachel Haver Janet Shelley Lynne Thomson

2nd Violins Lesley Lemon Chloe Baudet John Beckett Leon Crampin Helma Evans-Kupta Sue Gillis Michael McConnell Paul Richards

Violas Ed Shelton Clare Fox Tracey Milne Tony Smith

Cellos Lynda Trice Martin Heath Margaret Houston Clive Jackson Muriel Rattray Double Bass Ed Kluz David Barnes

Flutes/Piccolos Elaine Herbert Barbara Sykes Oboe/Cor Anglais Barry Collisson Katy Warren

Clarinets Andrew Norris Joanna Wood

Bassoons Paula Burton Karen Carter

French Horns Sally Myles Tim Jones Roger Sowter Trumpets Hannah Mitchell Roy Falshaw Alistair Richards Trombones Paul Dodge Keith Maxwell Len Tyler Tuba Daniel Barnes Percussion Katie Tyler Tim Lain Harp Tamsin Jolly

MIKE THOMSON will be a familiar face to anyone who has been to our concerts in the recent past. He is often seen at the front introducing the concerts but he is also intensely busy behind the scenes as Chairman of the orchestra and chief sound engineer. After 5 successful years, Mike has decided to retire from the role of Chairman and we are incredibly grateful to him for everything he has done – he has worked tirelessly for the orchestra and provided inspirational leadership during a very exciting period of development. One of the reasons he gives for retiring is

that he would like to spend more time devoted to his own instrumental playing. Look out for Mike playing solo piano in Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue in a future Pelly concert and we hope he will soon be joining our trombone section on a regular basis.



Pelly Orchestra Forthcoming Concerts 16 October 2010 – High Cross Church, Camberley 18 December 2010 – Church on the Heath, Elvetham Heath 2 April 2011 – High Cross Church, Camberley 2 July 2011 – High Cross Church, Camberley (Children’s afternoon concert) 16 July 2011 – Church on the Heath, Elvetham Heath Website Pease visit our website which is regularly updated with orchestra news, music excerpts from past concerts, details of future concerts and other background information: www.pellyorchestra.co.uk Email Mailing List Sign up to our email mailing list by registering via the ‘Contact Us’ page of our website. Reciprocal Programme Advertising Would you be interested in advertising your concerts in our programme and in turn advertising our concerts in yours? For more details, contact Leon Crampin on: [email protected] Players Wanted We are looking for trombone and horn players to complete our regular brass section. We are also keen to welcome string players to our ever-growing string section. To find out more, please contact our Secretary on: [email protected]

Finances We are a self-financing organisation and like most similar organisations, we are monitoring our finances carefully in the current economic climate. Our main sources of income are our concerts. In addition our members pay an annual subscription and we are kindly supported by our Patrons. This year we were lucky enough to secure a grant to purchase new music and have been involved in fund-raising (members of the orchestra were sponsored to learn a new musical instrument and take grade 1 within 6 months!). Our main expenses are on concerts: hiring the venue, fees for our Musical Director, Leader and hired players; and music costs. Weekly we pay for the use of our rehearsal venue and rehearsal fees for our Musical Director & Leader. We have been fortunate in being able to make a small profit in recent years, as we keep a careful check on our finances (which are audited annually). We are particularly grateful to you, our audience, for joining us tonight and for supporting us financially by buying a ticket. We hope you enjoy the concert!

http://www.pellyorchestra.co.uk/

mailto:[email protected]



The Lydian Singers

Forthcoming “at home” concerts in the Methodist Church, Farnborough

will be on: Saturday 23rd October 2010 7.30pm

ON WITH THE SHOW (Songs from Shows)

Tuesday 7th December 2010 7.30pm SING LULLABY

Saturday 9th April 2011 7.30pm

http://lydiansingers.net16.net/



Patrons

We are very grateful to all our patrons who help to support the orchestra by purchasing a season ticket in advance. Benefits include reserved seats and an annual pre-concert champagne reception with the Musical Director.

Mr & Mrs P Ashford Mr K Baker Mr & Mrs J Bell Mr & Mrs A Browning Mr & Mrs J Cowley Mr & Mrs M Cox Mr & Mrs B Crossland Miss G Daley Mr P Haver Mr A Herbert Mr & Mrs R Hicks Mr & Mrs C Hollingsworth Miss D Houghton Mr P Houghton Mrs L Jackson

Mrs B Kegel – Life Member Mrs Marie Little Mrs P Mansfield Mr & Mrs L Mayhew Mr & Mrs R Morrison Mr B & Mrs S Nathan Mr & Mrs R W Neave Mr & Mrs K Over Mrs M Perryman Mrs D Poll Mr & Mrs G Pollen - Life Members Mrs G Rose Mr & Mrs P Smith Mrs B Thomas Mr & Mrs E J Wacey

Programme Editor: Jo Wood Programme printed by: Imprint Colour Ltd www.imprintcolour.co.uk

About the Pelly Concert Orchestra The Orchestra is a local orchestra made up of enthusiastic amateur musicians who enjoy making good music to a high standard and entertaining audiences with live music. It gives four or five public concerts a year with around 40 players, most of whom are local musicians. Its repertoire is very wide, comprising both light and classical music, along with representations from radio, television, stage and screen. It is therefore rather different from orchestras which play lengthy symphonic works, and concerts usually consist of more than a dozen items in a variety of styles. There are concerts in Autumn, Spring and Summer, plus a special – and always well-attended – concert at Christmas or New Year. Besides the musical enjoyment of the players and the listeners, concerts have been given in aid of charities, and of course they are essential for maintaining orchestra funds.

http://www.imprintcolour.co.uk/

‘last night of the pelly proms’ church on the heath 17

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